The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, has called for a deliberate shift from traditional commerce to an innovation-driven digital economy across Northern Nigeria.
Mr. Inuwa made the call at the Future Map Foundation Roundtable 1.0 (North-West Edition) held in Kano, where he stressed that the region’s slow digital growth is not due to a lack of talent, but the absence of a coordinated and intentional development strategy.
He emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among academic institutions, private sector organisations, entrepreneurs, and government, noting that while government must provide policies and an enabling environment, the private sector remains the key driver of innovation.
According to him, innovation must be people-centred and locally relevant to achieve global competitiveness, urging the region to move from technology consumption to the creation of solutions tailored to local challenges.
The roundtable brought together policymakers, technology founders, and ecosystem leaders to jointly develop a sustainable roadmap for the digital transformation of the North-West.
Participants at the forum pledged to strengthen regional innovation policies and deepen public-private partnerships to accelerate digital growth in the region.
The initiative aligns with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which aims to achieve a 95 per cent digital literacy rate nationwide by the year 2030.